Aftermath
by Fanfiction911
Summary: The repercussions of their actions.
1. Chapter 1

The cheering crowd on the tarmac was near deafening. They had returned heros to the world. They had closed the rift and saved the world. At a heavy price though, Raleigh thought as he and Mako were jostled and hugged as they made their way off the rescue helicopter and towards the command center. They had barely made it out alive. The world had lost almost all their Jaeger pilots in their last ditch attempt to decimate the Kaiju.

He looked over at Mako and although she was smiling in response to the cheering crowd, the raw pain and heartache over Stacker Pentecost's death threatened to overcome her fragile facade. He had felt every second of her fear when the Marshall outlined his plan to use his Jaeger to eradicate the category 4 kaijus that threatened the entrance to the rift. He had felt her overwhelming anguish when they had felt the blast from Stacker Pentecost's sacrifice. There was no way for her to hide her pain from him during their neural link.

Even now, after the link had been disconnected with the destruction of the Gypsy Danger, he felt oddly connected to her. In some ways, Raleigh felt that he and Mako were more connected than he and Yancy ever were. Sure, he and Yancy were brothers and they shared everything but something about Mako's traumatic past made him feel less ... broken. He had buried himself in grief and guilt for the past five years and he thought no one would understand. But, he was wrong. Mako had understood. She had gone through it herself and lived with the pain and guilt longer than he had. That was why he thought their neural link was so very strong. The strongest of any linked Jaeger pilots. They were a near perfect Drift match.

Instinctively, Raleigh reached for Mako and put his right hand on the small of her back both to guide her to the tarmac doors and to reassure her that he was there for her. She paused and looked up at him in surprise, still not used to being so intimately linked to another person. After losing her family, she had found the Marshall and he had saved her literally and figuratively. He taught her, loved her and gave her direction for her anger. But, nonetheless, he was a military man and open emotion was rarely displayed. Over the years, she would satisfy herself that his unspoken silence meant his approval. Her respect for him turned to devotion and love. But, she never once forgot that he had taught her duty, honor and loyalty above all else.

As she felt Raleigh's constant presence as they made their way still surrounded by the ebullient crowd, she was still unsure of her feelings for him. Her upbringing, both by her parents and the Marshall, had told her that rogue, hot-shot, fly boys like Raleigh were bad news and should be avoided at all costs. But, her heart and their neural link had told her that he was just as damaged as she was and was the first person to ever truly understand her. She shook her head to try to clear her confused thoughts, immediately causing Raleigh to turn to her with a concerned look.

"Mako, everything OK?" He said quietly knowing not to embarrass her in front of the crew.

She gave a tight smile and nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak in response to his worried question.

He gave her a reassuring smile and kept his right hand at the small of her back. He knew she wasn't comfortable displaying emotion and he didn't want to make her more uncomfortable by holding her hand in front of everyone. He had to be patient and he had to give her time. Time to grieve, for her family and for the Marshall and time to get comfortable with him. He wasn't going to walk away from her, especially after all that they had been through. He just hoped to god he could convince her to do the same.

As they turned the corner to the command room, Herc Hansen stood there riveted to the floor waiting for them. He could see the hurt and loss in the older man's eyes over his son's death. Mako was the first to speak as they came to stop in front of the new Marshall. The room stilled and quieted.

"Marshall Hansen, please accept our deepest sympathies on your loss. Your son was a brave and fierce warrior. His sacrifice will always be remembered. He died so that millions could live," Mako said with a strong and clear voice despite her own loss. She bowed deeply in respect.

Eyes barely holding back tears, the new Marshall nodded and returned her bow. "My sympathies as well on your loss Mako. Marshall Pentecost was one of my closest friends. He will be sorely missed. I can only hope to be half the leader that he was," Hansen said as his voice choked with emotion.

Mako nodded in acknowledgement trying desperately not to break down in front of the entire command center. Marshall Pentecost had always frowned on showing emotion and she didn't want to let him down, not now, not ever. Raleigh looked at Mako and realized that she was just barely holding it together. He straightened himself up and stood at attention.

"Permission to stand down, sir?" He asked formally, his voice noticeably exhausted.

Marshall Hansen smiled at Raleigh and offered his hand to him. "Permission granted, rangers. Good work today."

The room erupted with roars and shouts as people congratulated each other for a job well done. Raleigh took this opportunity to guide Mako to the exit door. They were both emotionally and physically spent. Despite her stoic exterior, he knew that she was in shambles inside. He wanted to get her back to her room as soon as possible. He again guided her with his hand on the small of her back and to his surprise she leaned into his touch. They walked in comfortable silence as they made their way through the congratulatory crowds to their rooms.

As they neared their rooms, he could feel her energy seep away. He reached out to open her door and she didn't object as she wearily passed through to her room and he quietly followed. He gently shut the door behind him and the loud cheers from the hallways instantly disappeared. The silence was deafening. She all but collapsed into her desk chair as he stood there and watched her. Tears began to flow freely down her face as he felt her releasing the walls she had shown in public. He was quietly relieved that she felt comfortable enough with him that she was allowing him to see her like this. The tears turned to sobs as she lowered her head between her hands and covered her face.

He gently knelt in front of her and reached for her face. He slowly encircled his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest. He held her tightly as she cried. He stared at the framed photo on her desk of her and the Marshall in front of a jaeger. They looked so happy to be together. Raleigh's heart ached as he felt her anguish and grief.

"It's alright, Mako," he whispered into her hair. "Let it all out. The hurt and the pain. He loved you so much. And you loved him. I felt it."

"He's gone, Raleigh. I'll never see him again," she said between sobs still clutching desperately to his shirt. They had shed their jaeger suits in the helicopter and now wore standard issue shirts and pants.

"No, you'll see him in the Drift. I promise," he said reassuringly.

He held her until her sobs quieted down and only tears flowed again. When he thought she had calmed, he gently raised himself up and picked her up in his arms like she was weightless. He softly set her down on her bed and tucked the blanket under her as he smoothed a lock of her hair away from her face. He smiled at her gently and cupped her face showing her that he understood and felt her pain. As he turned to leave, he felt her hand on his forearm. He stopped and turned to face her with a puzzled look.

"Please, I do not want to be alone, Raleigh," she whispered.

He looked at her tearful face and nodded with understanding. She scooted over to make room for him and he gently lowered himself down next to her on top of her blanket. He raised his right arm up and she settled herself on his chest, one arm tucked close to his body and the other resting lightly on his chest before he lowered his arm and softly embraced her cold, shivering body. His other hand instinctively covered her hand on his chest and he gently kissed her head. They lay like that for a while before he heard her breathing turn steady and deep. He pulled Mako closer to him, willing his warmth to her and let out a breath of air. Raleigh finally closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.


	2. Chapter 2

The room was dark when Raleigh woke. He reached over to Mako's side in the vain hope that she had merely turned around during the night. But the cold sheets that his hand encountered told him the truth. He was alone. He took a big breath and sighed. He brought his hands up and rubbed his face trying to wipe the disappointment from his face. But what did he expect? That she would instantly welcome him with open arms and they would live happily ever after? The Raleigh of five years ago would have probably thought that. The Raleigh that looked back at him through the mirror now knew that if he wanted things to work out between them, he had to work his butt off trying to make her see that they were perfect for each other. Two halves of a precious but battered coin.

He grunted as he pulled himself up from her bed and swung his legs to the floor. He stared down at his boots. They were neatly placed inches from where he had planted his feet toes facing out so all he had to do was slip his feet in and lace himself up. Mako, he thought. Always so considerate. He put his boots on and headed out when his eye caught the red shoe Mako had been holding when Stacker found her, neatly sitting on a shelf by the door. He walked up to the shelf and hesitated briefly before he picked it up. It had meant so much to both Mako and Stacker. He thought it was a perfect symbol of their relationship. He gently placed it back on the shelf exactly how he found it and pulled open the heavy door to leave.

Crossing the short distance to his own room, he quickly showered and changed clothes. Although he knew he should have given her some time and distance to grieve, he wanted to make sure Mako was okay. So ignoring his growling stomach, he headed directly to the Command Center where his instincts told him Mako would be. Sure enough, she was crouched over one of the consoles speaking with Herc. He walked up to them both.

"Good morning, Marshall. Mako," he said formally.

Herc and Mako looked up at his greeting but only Herc gave him a small smile.

"Good morning to you as well, Beckett," Herc responded. "You look rested."

"I am sir, thank you. I slept well last night," Raleigh said as he returned the Marshall's smile.

Mako turned a slight shade of red at Raleigh's comments but remained silent.

"Good, good. Look Raleigh. I got a call from the powers that be this morning and they want to recommit to the Jaegar Program. They all agree that just because we managed to close the rift this time, it doesn't mean that we're 100% safe from future attacks. We're not out of hot water just yet. So, I'll need all the help I can get. Can I count on you?" The Marshall extended his right hand towards him.

Raleigh looked at Mako but her face gave no hint of her thoughts. "With respect, sir, I'm not really good at anything but piloting jaegers. We don't even have anymore jaegers so I don't how I can help," he replied truthfully. When in doubt, tell the truth. That's what Yancy always said.

"We will though, son. And after we build them, I'm going to need you to train the next generation of pilots. In the meantime, I want you to start looking across the oceans for potential candidates. Your one of the few Jaegar pilots who've drifted with more than one partner and made it work. You know what it means to be compatible," the Marshall finished.

Still Mako remained silent. He knew that she had already agreed to help the Marshall. She wouldn't, she couldn't walk away from Stacker Pentecost's life's work. In fact, she would be more committed than ever. It didn't matter, he thought. He was only kidding himself when he thought he could walk away, from the Jaegar Program and from her.

He stood straighter as he extended his hand out to Herc. "I'd be honored to help, sir," Raleigh replied formally shaking the Marshall's hand.

The Marshall grinned and gave him a solid pat on the shoulder with his free hand. "Outstanding. With you leading the pilot program and Mako leading the Jaegar rebuild, we are unstoppable."

Mako quietly cleared her throat. "Apologies, Marshall. May we continue our conversation later? I have a scheduled meeting with Drs. Geiszler and Gottlieb," she addressed Herc formally.

"Yes, of course. We'll finish later."

Mako bowed slightly at the Marshall and turned to leave. It always amazed Raleigh how efficiently she moved. Not one wasted movement much like her fighting skills. As Mako reached the Command doors, the Marshall turned to Raleigh and said, "What's the problem, Raleigh?"

"Sir?" Raleigh questioned with a furrowed brow as his attention turned back to his superior.

"Why are you still here?"

Momentarily stunned at the Marshall's words, Raleigh involuntarily looked back at the Command doors.

"You should be past that door already tracking her down."

"Permission to speak off the record, sir?"

"Granted," Herc replied as he gently led Raleigh to a less noisy part of the Command center.

As they neared a quieter part of the room, Raleigh ran his hand through his short hair and blew out a breath of frustration.

Herc laughed out loud. "It's never easy, mate, is it? Women will always throw you for a loop. But, it's been my experience that the harder you work, the sweeter the reward."

"That's the problem, sir. I know what I want but I don't think it's what she wants. Or, maybe it is. I don't know," he said with frustration. "We've only drifted a few times together. But in those few times, I saw me through her eyes and ... I don't know."

"Look, you know as well as I do that drifting with someone is ... unique. You and I have only drifted before with close relatives so there is a fundamental base that we already know we share. Simply put, drifting with someone you already know well, makes for a shortened learning curve. That's why so many pilots are either closely related or husband and wife teams. Drifting with a stranger is unpredictable and not necessarily advisable unless the two are extremely compatible. What I'm trying to say is that if you don't even try, then you're short-changing yourself. Your neural scans show a compatibility that's almost off the charts. It's up to you to do something about it," Herc said with a fatherly tone.

Raleigh nodded his head in understanding. Drift compatibility was everything. To find it between two strangers was extremely rare. He knew it and he knew that Mako knew it. But, if they trained together enough, he had no doubt that they would be even more in sync than he and Yancy had been. They would be invincible. He had to talk to Mako. He had to find out what she was thinking for sure.

He gave the Marshall a quick thanks and headed towards the lab where he'd hoped he could intercept her before her meeting with the scientists. As he turned the corner before the lab, he saw Mako speaking with another ranger. No doubt they were offering her condolences on Stacker Pentecost. It must be killing her to have to be so gracious when she was still reeling from his passing Raleigh thought. He saw Mako nod and smile to the ranger before she turned to resume her route to the lab.

"Mako!" He called with more force than he had intended.

She froze at his voice and paused ever so slightly before turning towards him. Her pause told him without a doubt that she really had been avoiding him. He made his quickly to her and left a foot of space between them mindful of not invading her personal space in public. An image of them last night quickly flashed into his mind before he chased it away.

Mako nodded at him and remained silent.

"Can we talk for a minute?" He said in a soft voice.

"I am sorry Raleigh but I am already late for a meeting with the doctors," Mako replied formally.

"I know, I know. I just want to know where we stand. I ... look, I think that if trained together, really trained together, we'd be unstoppable piloting a Jaegar. And I think that together we can make the Jaegar pilot program the best ever," Raleigh said excitedly.

Mako gave him a small smile. "It was my honor to pilot the Gipsy Danger with you, Raleigh. You gave me a chance when all others would not. I appreciate your trust in me. However," she paused and looked down at her feet, "I will not be piloting a Jaegar again."

"What? What do you mean? Because the Marshall said you would head up the rebuild project?" He asked with totally confusion. "That doesn't mean we can't practice together."

Mako stood steadfast. "It is not that. The reason is personal. I ask that you please respect my decision, Raleigh," she said quietly.

"I deserve to know why, Mako. Is it because of Marshall Pentecost? He gave you his blessing to pilot a Jaegar."

"No, it is not."

"Is it because you lost control the first time we drifted? You overcame that. I can teach you to clear your mind when drifting," Raleigh said.

"No, it is not."

"Is it because you are afraid to get into the pilot seat again? I can help you overcome your fear, Mako. I did and so can you." Raleigh stepped half a foot closer to her to emphasis his point.

"No," she replied stoically.

"What, then Mako? Tell me," he said in exacerbation as he grabbed the back of his neck in frustration.

"Forgive me, Raleigh," Mako said in a near whisper as she meet his eyes again. "It is you," she choked out in an unsteady voice.

Before he could even process her words, she had given him a quick bow and turned towards the lab. Watching her disappearing form, Raleigh let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding and brought his right hand up to rub his forehead. He had just been thrown a loop.


	3. Chapter 3

Mako took a deep breath to steady herself before walking into the lab to meet the scientists. She had tried her best to avoid Raleigh this morning. This morning. She blushed involuntarily. She had opened her eyes this morning to find herself tucked safely and warmly against Raleigh's broad chest, his arms wrapped protectively around her. She had felt strangely at peace despite the devastating events of the past 24 hours. She remembered watching her right hand rise and fall in rhythm with his steady breaths. She remembered smiling as her thoughts turned to a more intimate nature.

Reaching to steady herself against the door, Mako shook her head to try to chase away the disorientating memories. She had to be professional. She had to stay focused. She couldn't allow idle thoughts about Raleigh, no matter how vivid, to distract her from her job, her duty. Marshall Hansen had given her his trust to help rebuild the jaegar program and she had no intention of letting him down. She wasn't a teenager nursing a secret crush on the quarterback she told herself. She straightened her back and strode confidently into the lab for her meeting.

Tendo smiled when he saw Raleigh in the hall. "Hey Raleigh," he said energetically.

Raleigh turned to acknowledge his friend.

Tendo's smile was instantly replaced with a confused frown when he saw Raleigh's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, man. Everything's fine," Raleigh said automatically forcing a smile. "What's up?"

"Don't give me that. I've known you for a long time now. That's not a 'nothing' look. What gives? You just saved the world yesterday. You should be on top of the world. What possibly could be wrong?"

Raleigh looked at Tendo and silently debated whether or not to share with him. On one hand, he wanted to keep his personal life private but on the other hand, if he didn't talk to someone about Mako, he would go insane. Besides, out of everyone at the base, Tendo knew him the best. Heck, Tendo probably knew Mako better too since he had served under Stacker Pentecost longer than Raleigh had.

Raleigh gave a resigned sigh. "It's Mako."

Tendo's face dropped. "Oh," he replied. It was his turn to be retrospective.

"What does that mean?" Raleigh asked with a furrowed brow.

"What does what mean?" Tendo replied blankly.

"What does 'oh' mean?" Raleigh asked with more hostility than he had intended. "You asked me what was wrong and I told you."

"And you did ... but ... I, uh ...," he trailed off.

"Spit it out Tendo," Raleigh said impatiently.

"Look, I don't think I'm the right person for you to talk to," he said uncomfortably.

Raleigh furrowed his brows again. "Why?"

"Cause I've known her since she was a kid."

"Look, man. I just need a little advice that's all. That's all I'm asking, I promise," Raleigh said trying to ease Tendo's rising anxiety.

He looked at Raleigh with discomfort before running his right hand through his hair in defeat. "Fine, ok. I just want to reiterate that I've known her since she was like twelve years old. She's Pentecost's daughter for god sakes, so there are places I don't want to go," he warned.

"I won't, I won't. Thanks, man," Raleigh said with a smile.

"I need another cup of coffee," he said defeated.

Raleigh laughed and started walking towards to mess hall. "Come on, it's on me."

Ten minutes later, Raleigh found himself waiting impatiently for the older man to get his coffee and settle down at a quiet table in the mess hall. Taking a gulp of coffee, Tendo stared at Raleigh. "Okay, shoot, hot shot."

Raleigh took a deep breath. "So, Mako and I have the highest drift compatibility you've seen in a long time, right?"

"Well, the first time didn't go so well if you remember," Tendo reminded Raleigh.

"Yeah, I know. I was there. But, aside from that, looking at our neural stats, you haven't seen higher numbers, haven't you?" Raleigh pressed.

Tendo paused. "What are you getting at? This is what you wanted to talk about?" He let out a breath of air in relief and smiled.

"Uh, yes and no," Raleigh continued. "Look, Marshall Hansen wants me to train new Jaegar pilots and he wants Mako to help rebuild the Jaegars."

"Okay, I know that."

"But, I think we can more effectively teach new Jaegar pilots if Mako and I did it together. We're 100% drift compatible and if we train together more in combat scenarios, then we would be unstoppable," Raleigh rushed out excitedly.

"Okay, still following," Tendo nodded.

"But, Mako won't train with me. She told me today that she wouldn't pilot a Jaegar with me again...ever."

Tendo raised his eyebrows in slight surprise.

"She said it was personal," Raleigh finished.

"I take it she didn't tell you why, then?"

"No," he answered. "I thought maybe you could give me some insight into her thoughts."

"Me?" Tendo said incredulously. "Raleigh, if you haven't forgotten, you're the one that's drifted with her. You've seen inside her mind."

"Yeah, I know but I think she kept a lot from me. Pentecost always said he drifted with his mind blank and that he brought nothing with him into the drift. I think the first time we drifted, it overwhelmed her. The second time, I felt she was in greater control of her emotions. There was a definite difference between the first and the second time we drifted. It was like she had this wall up the second time."

"Well," Tendo paused and thought, "the Marshall and her used to meditate a lot together. That and spar. It was one of their favorite things to do together. Look, Raleigh ... from want I understand, she's been through a lot. The Marshall was all she had. It's gotta be like losing her family all over again. Maybe you should give her some time? Give her some room to gather herself again, you know what I mean?"

Raleigh involuntarily nodded. He knew that giving her some space was what he really needed to do but his emotions always seemed to override his head. Yancy had always said that about him. Even though it killed him, he would try to take it slow with Mako. Get her comfortable with him again first. While tragic events brought them together, he truly believed that everything happened for a reason. He wasn't going to waste the second chance life had somehow thrown his way.

So, for the next few weeks, Raleigh buried himself in his work pouring over stacks and stacks of dossiers reviewing the possible Jaegar pilot candidates. He made it a point not to seek out Mako. If he encountered her in the Command Center or in the hallways, he was always polite but formal. A pillar of calm confidence. In fact, often times he would deliberately avoid her during general meetings and briefings.

Mako, on the other hand, was growing increasingly frustrated. While she understood that it would be natural for Raleigh to distance himself from her after she told him her feelings about drifting with him again, she didn't think he would have taken it so well. She had expected him to confront her afterwards to demand an explanation but he never did. She had expected him to try to convince her that she was wrong but he never did. It almost seemed like he didn't care anymore. Just when she thought she understood him, he had thrown her for a loop.

Feeling the frustration building in her, Mako decided that physical activity was what she needed to take her mind off of Raleigh. It was late in the evening so no one would be using the sparring room. It would be perfect. Squeeze a quick workout and then turn in for the night. If she could make her body exhausted enough, her mind would turn off too. At least that was what she was hoping for.

She rounded the corner and heard the distinct swooshing of the bokken or wooden sword before stopping at the room's entrance. Raleigh. He was wearing loose sweatpants and the standard issue tank top had all but melted into his chiseled frame from his exertions. He moved with precision and skill, so different from the day he had sparred with his prospective drift partners in front of her and the Marshall. He was merely playing that day. This was what he was truly capable of and a part of Mako yearned to spar with him again just to feel how in sync they could be.

"I'm almost done," Raleigh said as he continued striking his invisible opponent.

Mako almost jumped at his comment. She thought for sure he had been so concentrated that he didn't notice her brief presence. She had planned to quietly leave before he spoke.

"No, that is not necessary. I was just leaving," she said as she looked down and turned to leave.

He stopped mid-strike and turned to face her. He was slightly out of breath. He picked up a towel from the floor and wiped the sweat from his brow. "No, you should train. You don't want to get rusty," he said casually.

Mako stopped mid-stride. Rusty? Did he really say that, she thought? While obviously skilled in the martial arts, she was easily his equal if not better. Years of strict training by Pentecost had made her into a fierce and seasoned fighter. Who was he to comment on her skills?

Despite her best efforts to restrain herself, she turned around slowly and said, "Are you calling me rusty?"

Raleigh shrugged. "I haven't seen you train for the past few weeks. You know how it is. Use it or lose it."

"Skills that have taken years to master will not fade if not practiced for a few weeks," she said pointedly.

He could see that he had hit a nerve in her. He smiled inside but kept his face neutral. "Really?" He raised his eyebrows. "OK, how about we go a round? If I win, you have to review two stacks of prospective pilot dossiers for me."

"And if I win?" She retorted back with an uncharacteristic gleam of competitiveness in her eyes.

"What do you want?" He replied casually.

Mako felt a flash of heat over her body at his comment before she quickly composed herself. "If I win, you will volunteer for Dr. Geiszler neural tracking system. He is working on a new neural interface for future Jaegars and requires an experienced pilot for control and comparison tests."

Raleigh shuddered at the thought. Being Geiszler's guinea pig was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. To be poked and prodded was not on his like list. But, he was confident he was going to win so he walked up to Mako and offered her his hand. "Deal."


	4. Chapter 4

Mako removed her boots and placed them neatly at the edge of the exercise mat. Next, she took off her military issued jacket and folded it precisely next to her boots. Now in her bare feet and a olive green tank top, she turned to face Raleigh.

He had watched as she methodically prepared herself for their match. He marveled at how much strength she had when sparring with him despite her petite frame. When he had first met her, he had incorrectly assumed that she was delicate and soft. After their first match, he had learned the hard way that beneath her ever polite demeanor lay a resilient and efficient warrior.

At first, he was just happy that he had found a drift partner that was compatible with him. He wanted to be out there in the Gipsy Danger fighting on the front lines. He wanted to prove to himself that he still had it in him and that Yancy's death wasn't for nothing. It wasn't until after he and Mako had drifted that first time when he found out about her family and her connection to the Marshall that he realized he started to care for her.

He admitted at first it was more pity than anything. How she had lost her whole world in a fraction of a minute. He could relate. Then, when he realized her resilience in the face of destruction, the pity was replaced by respect. She had bounced back with the Marshall's guidance and made herself an invaluable part of the Jaegar program. That was why it was so easy for him to beat the living daylights out of Chuck Hansen when he made disparaging remarks about Mako.

It almost broke his heart when Mako and the Marshall faced each for the last time right before their mission to close the rift. Mako had pleaded with the Marshall not to co-pilot the Striker Eureka but when the Marshall stood firm, she didn't rail or cry. She stoically bowed her head and accepted his choice even though he knew it all but killed her. Knowing all hope was lost, she had yelled, "Sensei, I love you" to Pentecost before the Striker Eureka self-detonated. It was then that his respect had turned to admiration.

When he himself thought all was lost, he had turned to look at an unconscious Mako and the first thing that came to his mind was that he couldn't, he wouldn't let her die if he could help it. So, he sacrificed his oxygen line and released her in an emergency pod praying that she would make it back up through the rift before he detonated the Gipsy Danger. It was when he awoke to her desperately clutching onto him that he realized his admiration had somehow turned to love.

"Raleigh?" Mako called. "Raleigh?"

He blinked and stared at her, subconsciously trying to concentrate on the match at hand. Being in the same room with her was making him seriously unfocused.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he replied with more confidence than he really felt.

Mako furrowed her brow at him but said nothing.

He turned and offered his bokken to her. She nodded her head in acknowledgement and took the wooden practice stick from him brushing her hands over his for the briefest of seconds.

It felt like a jolt of lightening had coursed through him when her hand had touched his. Memories of failing asleep with her in his arms pushed their way through as he tried to maintain his composure.

"Are you alright, Raleigh?" She asked brows still furrowed.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Everything's fine." He was turning into a hormone filled teenager right before her eyes. He had to get a grip on himself.

"Because if you would like to forfeit this match, I would not be upset," Mako replied with a hint of challenge in her voice.

Raleigh stilled immediately. She was goading him, trying to throw him off-balance. She was playing dirty. Two can play this game he thought. "I was going to ask you the same. It hardly seems fair this match. I know all your moves already," he said with a playful tone.

"Hardly. It is you that is the predictable one," she countered. "You do not consider all avenues of attack before taking action. You often times rush into a move hoping that your strength alone will help you prevail. You are overconfident in your maneuvers sacrificing efficiency for showmanship."

"Is that so?" Raleigh said surprised and annoyed at the same time.

"It is," Mako replied matter-of-factly.

"OK," he said drawing out the word. "Why don't you test out your theory up close and personal?"

"I plan to," she said with a glimmer in her eyes. She swung her bokken 180 degrees and planted it firmly on the floor. She looked at him for a brief second and formally bowed.

Raleigh returned the bow and gripped his bokken so that it was at a 45 degree angle from him.

The next 10 seconds was a blur as Mako raised her bokken and swung it in a precise arc towards Raleigh's upper torso. He reacted instantly and blocked her blow. He took a step back and swung his bokken towards her ankles in the hopes of knocking her off her feet. She easily anticipated his move and sprang up to avoid his swing.

Undeterred, Raleigh began a fast and clipped attack forcing Mako to retreat backwards with each blocked blow. When she had run out of mat, she crouched low as if to roll over and hooked her bokken between his legs and flicked her wrist upwards knocking Raleigh off his feet. He landed on his back with a thud and an oomph.

Sweat had formed on Mako's face as she quickly positioned herself back in the middle of the mat while Raleigh picked himself off the mat.

"See?" Mako taunted. "Predictable."

More shocked than hurt, Raleigh sucked in a deep breath and repositioned himself so that he was facing her again. He raised his bokken and started to slowly circle around Mako forcing her to turn her body in sync with him. Their eyes locked with each other and the world disappeared.

Raleigh took two steps forward and dealt a forceful blow to Mako that caused her to involuntarily jerk back. He closed in on her and duplicated the same move she had executed on him and before she could recover, Mako found herself on her back staring at the ceiling.

"Predictable," he said in a bored tone.

Mako bounced back up and immediately raised her bokken in an offensive position. Before Raleigh could turn around completely, she had stepped to his blind side and rapped his left side with two neat and swift blows causing him to bend over in pain.

"What the ...?" He cried as he grasped his side. That was going to leave a bruise.

"Never take your eyes off your opponent," she said seriously as she repositioned herself again. Sweat was now freely dripping off both of them as their adrenaline went into overdrive.

Raleigh released his side and straightened himself despite the pain. He clutched his bokken with both hands and swung it in a fanlike motion as he quickly advanced onto Mako. She immediately took a defensive posture but the strength of his blows were too powerful for her to block so with every block, she involuntarily stepped back a foot until she found herself pinned to the wall with Raleigh's face mere inches from hers, their bokkens crossed between them.

Breathing hard and drenched in sweat, neither one of them was willing to budge so they stood there at an impasse so close that they could feel each other's breaths on their faces. There lips were inches away from each other.

Raleigh stared into Mako's eyes. "You mean like this?" He asked quietly.

Mako involuntarily blushed. She hoped he would mistaken it for exertion instead of what it really was. As much as she fought against it, she felt drawn into his eyes. For a brief second, looking into his eyes, it felt like she was drifting again with him. They were one. Their thoughts, their actions and their movements. In his eyes, she saw all his pain, all his frustrations and all his fears. She also saw herself. Alone and afraid. Is that how he saw me, she thought?

Before she could see more, she drew up her reserve strength and pushed Raleigh off her in an almost acrobatic move that sent them both flying backwards onto the floor, bokkens thrown across the room. She landed squarely on top of him in his arms. Despite the force of their landing and the fact that this was the second time he had landed hard onto the floor in less than thirty minutes, Raleigh had wrapped his arms around her to minimize her impact. Fortunately, it had worked and Mako looked more embarrassed than hurt. Unfortunately, he felt like the wind had been knocked out of him and it took a second to catch his breath.

"Are you OK, Mako?" He asked in a winded voice, his arms still around her waist.

Pushed up against his rock hard chest, she didn't know what to say or do. She nodded as she broke free from his embrace and pushed herself up off him. Once standing, she quickly smoothed out her hair and said in a clipped voice, "I believe it is I that has won this match. Do you agree?"

Raleigh looked up at her from his position on the floor. She looked beautiful at this angle almost like an angel. "Yes, I agree," he replied as he made no move to get up.

Mako nodded her head in acknowledgement and bowed. "I will let Dr. Geiszler know the good news."

He nodded back. "Wonderful," he dead panned.

"Thank you for the match," Mako said still flushed as she quickly turned to grab her jacket and boots before leaving the room.

Raleigh slowly brought himself upright and put his elbow on his knee. Winded and aching, he allowed himself a huge smile. It had worked. Other than being poked and prodded by Geiszler, his plan was perfect. He already heard about Geiszler's neural tracking system. What Mako probably didn't know was that he had already decided to volunteer to be part of the program the minute he heard that Geiszler need control subjects ... control subjects that preferably had already drifted together before to give baseline readings. It was just Raleigh's luck that he and Mako were about the only Jaegar co-pilots left in the world. Oh yes, he thought, the next few months were going to be very, very interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

Raleigh stared at the multiple stacks of dossiers almost a foot in height before him. He sighed. He hated paperwork. He hated sifting through someone's life just based on observations and evaluations. You couldn't match Jaegar pilots through a bunch of documents. You had to have them meet face-to-face and see if they were compatible, like how he and Mako and met. But, face-to-face meetings were impossible to arrange for hundreds of people. So, he had to settle for reading about them before inviting each of them in for an interview.

He rubbed his weary eyes to try to wake himself up before he heard a swift knock on the conference room door. Finally, he thought, a distraction. He got up and moved towards the door.

"I am sorry to disturb you Raleigh but I wish to talk with you if you have a minute," Mako said outside the door when he opened the door.

Raleigh blinked as he focused his eyes on her. "Mako," he said in a surprised voice, "of course, please come in." He motioned for her to enter.

She nodded and stepped into the room. Her eyes quietly assessed the table and its multiple stacks of documents and folders sprawled across its great expanse.

Raleigh closed the door and walked around to face her. "Uh, what can I do for you?" He said as he unconsciously ran his right hand through his hair and tucked in his shirt. He hadn't spoken to her since their match several days ago. He wondered if she knew about him volunteering for Geiszler's neural program before he agreed to their bet.

"I just spoke to Dr. Geiszler," Mako said in an even tone.

Yup, she knew. On the inside, he wondered just exactly how mad she was. On the outside, he said casually, "Oh, yeah?"

"Yes. It is strange," she continued.

"What's strange?" He asked. Suddenly the room felt stuffy and small.

"It seems Dr. Geiszler said you had already volunteered for his research program." She lifted her right eyebrow in a silent question.

"Oh, that," Raleigh said as he took an unconscious step back from her. "Look, about that, I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier but ... I just wanted to spar with you again. You've been so ... busy," he trailed off sheepishly.

She had an entire conversation planned out in her head with him but when she heard his explanation, all her initial anger seemed to disappear as fast as it had appeared. Her heart pulsed a little faster when she realized that he too wanted to feel what it was like to spar together again. She thought back to their match a few days ago. She hadn't felt a connection like that since that first time they faced each other on the mat. She had never been so in sync before with someone like she was with Raleigh, not even with the Marshall who had taught her everything she knew.

"We have all been busy. You have been especially busy," she said diplomatically as she swept her eyes over the dossiers.

"Huh? Uh, yeah," he said and smiled. "These dossiers are killing me. Herc wants me to pick the inaugural class of pilots and I can't even get through this first batch of candidates."

Mako could sense the growing frustration in his voice. She knew first hand how hard it was to match pilots. It took her months to narrow down Raleigh's list of prospects. Deep down inside she knew it was a bad idea but she couldn't help herself when she opened her mouth.

"Would you like some help?" She said softly.

Raleigh's head immediately whipped up and an ear-to-ear grin spread quickly on his face. Mako couldn't completely suppress her small smile at his reaction.

"I would really appreciate that," Raleigh said still grinning.

Despite her more sensible side screaming for her to leave the room, she gave him a small smile and walked over to the nearest stack of dossiers. Mako picked up the first folder in the stack and sat down to review the contents.

Raleigh returned her smile and quickly sat down to her left. He grabbed the next dossier and flipped it open. He had gone through all of them at least twice but he still hadn't been able to decide which candidates he wanted.

As if reading his mind, Mako turned to look at him and asked, "What criteria have you been using to match the candidates?"

"Well," he paused. "To be honest, I haven't decided on anyone yet."

Mako pursed her lips. He had been at this for several weeks already. She thought for sure he had narrowed down his list to an acceptable number.

"You're doing that thing with your lips again," Raleigh said knowing that his inability to formulate a list would annoy her.

Mako ignored his comment. "Raleigh, Marshall Hansen is counting on us to help him. We cannot let him down."

"You're not letting him down. I am," he said with resignation as he got up from his seat and started pacing back and forth. "I'm not good at this," he muttered.

Mako sat quietly as he paced in frustration. "When I was a little girl, my parents worked very hard to give me everything I wanted. I wanted for nothing. My life was almost perfect." She paused as reached into her memories. "That is until the Kaiju came. Then everything changed. In a blink of an eye I became an orphan. I was alone and angry with the world, much like how you were when you lost your family and maybe even now."

Raleigh stood frozen by her words. She had never shared much about herself. Most of what he knew, he gleamed from those few times he had drifted with her. Hearing her words now made him realize how hard her life had been. At least he had Yancy growing up. She had no one until the Marshall had found her.

Mako looked up and her eyes connected with his. "Everything changed again when the Marshall came into my life. He became my father, my family and my teacher. He taught me that everything happens for a reason. Have you ever considered that you were spared so many years ago so that you could seal the rift and keep the Kaiju away from this world?"

"Then you becoming my co-pilot was no accident," Raleigh replied.

"Yes, perhaps that's true in some way," Mako smiled softly. "I was lost like you until I realized that we all have a role and a purpose in life, big or small. It is up to us to realize what that is and whether we want to follow it or not."

"What do you believe in, Mako?" He asked.

Mako thought for a second. "I believe that you hold the power to reshape the future of the Jaegar program, but only if you choose."

"There's so much pain," he said as the faces of those lost flashed before his eyes.

"There is a saying that without experiencing great pain, one cannot truly appreciate happiness," Mako replied gently. "Look into yourself, Raleigh. What is it that you really want?"

Raleigh looked into her eyes. For the first time in a long time, he saw what she saw in him ... a strong, capable and honorable man. Yancy was the last person to really believe in him.

He reached his right hand up slowly and gently cupped her face careful not to scare her off. When she didn't pull away, he slowly closed the distance between them, closed his eyes and softly brushed a kiss on her lips.

Involuntarily, Mako raised her left hand in an attempt to stop his advances but her hand slipped when his lips brushed hers and ended up on his chest instead, covering his heart. Raleigh felt the heat of her hand on his chest and lifted his other hand to gently frame her face. He pulled back a little so that he could see her face.

"Isn't it obvious?" He answered her question softly as his hands caressed her face and neck.

Mako couldn't help but blush at his intimate touch. She felt like she was on fire. Her head was spinning and she felt like the room was closing in on her. Happiness and fear pulsed through her in even beats.

But before she could react, she heard the distinctive voice of Marshall Hansen getting progressively louder and louder. His voice stopped just outside of the conference room door as she heard him greet a passing Ranger and put his hand on the door handle. A cold shock of fear ran through her because this was the last thing she wanted the new Marshall to see.

Before Raleigh could register what was happening, Mako had reached the door just as Herc had pushed it open.

"Ah, Mako!" Exclaimed the Marshall. "Here to help Raleigh with his decisions?"

"Uh, yes, no," she said flustered. "Excuse me, sir, I am late for an appointment," she continued as she hurried past him and disappeared out the door.

Herc nodded at her retreating figure and turned to Raleigh with a raised eye. "Did I interrupt?"


	6. Chapter 6

Raleigh bolted up and ran his hand through his hair. "No, sir. Mako and I were just ... finishing up."

Herc raised his eyebrows briefly before turning to close the door. "Do I need to be concerned?"

"Concerned?" Raleigh asked slightly confused.

"I know its been awhile but I still know what an upset woman looks like." He replied.

"Yes, sir," he said uncomfortably.

Deciding that the young Jaegar pilot didn't necessarily want to discuss what happened, the Marshall decided to change the subject and turned to the issue at hand. "Did you decide on the candidate's list?"

"Yes, sir, I did. I'll have it on your desk first thing tomorrow morning," Raleigh replied.

"Looking forward to seeing it. Once I approve it, be ready to go ASAP," the Marshall said as he turned to leave.

"Yes, sir," Raleigh replied.

Herc turned around and looked at Raleigh.

"Oh, and Raleigh?"

"Sir?"

"I've decided to send some help with you on these interviews. I want someone there who can address the technical side of the issue," the Marshall explained.

"Understood, sir." Raleigh replied slightly deflated as the thought of him and Geiszler spending weeks on end together made him shudder just thinking about it.

A week later the Marshall had approved Raleigh's list of candidates and he was busy packing for his trip. He had narrowed down the candidates to about thirty men and women from around the United States. He and Geiszler would start in New York and work their way to California. The entire trip would take about a month if everything went well.

From those thirty candidates, seven sets of pilots would be chosen to train for combat. The United States government had commissioned four Jaegars to be built in the first wave of the program with more to be added later. The best four sets would pilot the new Jaegars with the remaining three sets as alternates.

Raleigh's thoughts were more on Mako than his task ahead. She had been systematically avoiding him for the entire week. No matter how hard he tried to pull her aside to talk about what happened, she would either be deep in discussion with the Marshall or surrounded by the ground crew responsible for the Jaeger's reconstruction.

His flight left in 30 minutes. If the didn't talk to her now, it would be a month before he would be able to again. He didn't want to leave without knowing that she wasn't upset with him.

He stuffed the last shirt into his military issued duffle and swung open his door determined to see Mako. Duffle in hand, he covered the corridor in two short strides, took a deep breath and rapped on her door, desperately hoping that she would be in her quarters.

"Mako," he said with confidence.

He waited. No answer.

"Mako?" He said with less confidence.

His bravado from before started to fizzle. She wasn't in. He looked up at the digital clock at the end of the hall. 20 minutes before he needed to be on the flight deck. Just as he picked up his duffle to leave, he heard the distinct sound of her door opening. He quickly turned back to see her standing calmly in front of him.

"Mako!" He said with more excitement than he had intended.

"Raleigh," she replied.

"I thought you weren't in. I was ... I mean I just came by to see how you were and to say ... goodbye, for now that is." Raleigh suddenly felt like a teenager in high school asking his crush if she wanted to go to the school dance. His sudden blush completed his humiliation.

Mako gave a small smile. "I am fine. Goodbyes are not necessary, Raleigh."

"Yeah, I know it's only for a month or so but I wanted to make sure we were OK. I mean ... you're not upset are you?" He continued to stammer.

"No, I am not upset. Why would I be upset?" She said.

"Well, because," he said before he was cut off.

"Raleigh! Mako! There you guys are!" Geiszler yelled from the end of the hallway waiving at them. "Come on, we'll be late. We don't want to be late!"

Raleigh looked at Geiszler and then at Mako. It was then that he had noticed the small duffle bag at Mako's feet. It suddenly all made sense. Mako was going with them! He couldn't help the grin that started to form on his face.

He looked at Mako. She looked down and smiled demurely.

They were almost one week into their journey around the country interviewing prospective Jaegar pilots and he, Mako and Geiszler had fallen into a comfortable routine. He and Mako would evaluate each candidate's physical and mental compatibility while Geiszler would evaluate their psychological stability.

They were in Chicago today. They had nine candidates they had to power through in two days. Most of the men and women they evaluated had some kind of relationship already established, siblings or spouses or best friends. It made it easier for the drift when they did. When your drift partner already knew everything about you, it made accepting the differences that much easier.

The last candidate of the day had just finished his interview process. It was now up to Raleigh and Mako to evaluate the nine candidates and eliminate the weakest ones.

"What did you think?" Raleigh said as he started to rub his aching neck. Sitting all day on his butt interviewing people had proved to be more physically challenging than piloting a Jaegar all day.

Mako was silent as she gathered her thoughts. A glance over to her confirmed Raleigh's initial thoughts. She looked as fresh now as she did 10 hours ago when they started.

"He's smart. His cognitive tests are off the charts," Raleigh supplied.

"Yes, that is true, but I am unsure of his attitude," she replied succinctly.

"You sense it too? The anger rolling beneath the surface?" He said.

"It is more than that. It feels like ... he wants to be a pilot for the wrong reasons." Mako said confused.

Raleigh flicked through the candidate's files looking for his psych profile. He scanned the documents that he'd all but memorized already and sighed. "Nope, nothing out of the ordinary here."

Mako shook her head. "Something is not right."

Raleigh was silent.

Mako turned to face him. "You are thinking that his anger can be controlled and used to his advantage."

Raleigh gave her a small smile. "And you are thinking that anger is a Jaegar pilot's worst enemy."

It was Mako's turn to smile. She nodded.

"We are getting to know each other's thoughts really well," Raleigh said still holding his smile.

"It is the Drift," Mako replied demurely.

"Maybe. Or maybe it's because we understand each other better than anyone else," Raleigh said.

His eyes caught hers. "Do you want to talk about it?" He said softly.

Mako blushed. She had been trying to avoid the subject for the better apart of a week already and had childishly hoped that he would simply forget it had happened. She would be shocked to know that their earlier kiss was almost all that Raleigh could think about in the ensuing week.

She shifted her eyes from him to her folded hands in her lap. "Not really," she said honestly.

Raleigh smiled at her sudden honesty. He turned his body to face her but didn't close the distance between them. "Mako, we can't just keep going without addressing what happened. Just tell me how you feel. That's all I'm asking," he said gently.

Mako inhaled deeply before she spoke. "It should not have happened. We were caught up in a moment of weakness."

Raleigh looked like Mako had just punched him in the stomach. He felt ill. She had thought it was a mistake, a lapse of judgement. Maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought. No, he thought again. She had enjoyed and wanted that kiss as much as he did. He had felt it. If they hadn't had been interrupted by the Marshall, who knows how it would have turned out. The electricity he felt between them was real. He felt in when they were sparring and he felt it when they kissed.

"No," he said firmly. "I don't believe that."

Mako looked up at him in silence.

"Why won't you face your feelings, Mako?" He said with exasperation.

"I am," she replied defensively.

"No, you're not. Tell me what this feels like," he said as he reached for her right hand and rubbed his thumb gently back and forth.

Mako was too shocked to reply. All she felt was a jolt of lightening pass through her when he touched her. Her stomach had started to flutter.

"It feels electric doesn't it?" Raleigh asked still holding and caressing her hand. Buoyed by her silence, he went on. "Every time we're next to each other, you feel like there are a million butterflies in your stomach fighting to get out, don't you?"

"It's the Drift," she replied in a whisper still trying to process how he so easily echoed her own thoughts.

Raleigh looked at her. "The Drift allowed us to see each other's greatest pains and worst fears. It allowed us to understand why were are who we are. It doesn't affect how we feel about each other. It doesn't make us like each other. That's something completely different. Don't you see that?"

"Yes. No," Mako replied confused.

Raleigh scooted closer to her. "Look, I can only tell you how I feel. When I walk into a room, the first person I look for is you. When I don't see you, I'm disappointed. When I have a bad day, seeing you makes me think things aren't all that bad. Yeah, it scares the hell out of me. To think that one person can have that much control over me. I'm just as confused as you. But, the difference is that I'm willing to try to see where this might go. The question is, are you?"

Mako looked into his eyes and saw the naked truth. For a brief second, she saw how she looked in his eyes and it was beautiful. She saw herself as damaged and hurt but never beautiful. Was this what it meant to love someone? To see past their flaws and fears? To see them in a way that they couldn't see themselves? She was always the geeky wallflower that no one paid attention to let alone a cocky, hotshot pilot like Raleigh. It was hard for her to grasp that his feelings for her were genuine.

"How do I know this is real?" she whispered.

Raleigh saw the confusion on her face and desperately wanted to tell her it was. But no amount of telling could beat showing. A slow smiled formed on his face as he reached for Mako's face. He gently lifted her face so that her eyes locked with his.

"Drift with me," he said simply.


End file.
